In the prior art, a one-dimensional array of proximity sensors is not accurate enough to determine a two-dimensional location of a pointer within a two dimensional plane extending from the array.
In prior art door lock systems, a portable wireless transmitter held by a person sends a coded signal to a wireless receiver connected to a door lock mechanism to lock or unlock the door. Some prior art transmitter units include switches for activating the lock and unlock functions, whereas other transmitter units are in the form of an electronic transponder card, whereby a transmitter unit connected to the lock interrogates the transponder when a wake up signal is detected.
In order to provide an added level of security, some systems require the user to enter a predefined authentication gesture to confirm that an authorized person is trying to unlock the door of a vehicle. Thus, for example, when the user presses a switch on a key fob transmitter, that user must enter a predefined authentication gesture on a touch sensor in order to unlock the door. In another example, a detected predefined authentication gesture activates a transmitter unit to interrogate a hands-free card transponder.
Laptop computers are typically available in touchscreen and non-touchscreen versions. It would be advantageous to enable consumers of non-touchscreen laptops to enable touchscreen functionality when desired. For example, it would be advantageous to enable swipe, pinch and rotate gestures when browsing images, checking a newsfeed or rotating images. Another example is to enable touchscreen functionality during travel in an airplane where it is more comfortable to use one's fingers on the screen than using the laptop's built-in trackpad.
Many in-vehicle infotainment systems employ touch screen user interfaces designed for handheld devices, such as mobile phones. It would be advantageous to provide a user interface that is designed for the use case of a display that is not held in the user's hand. It would be additionally advantageous to provide user interfaces for electronic devices, including handheld devices, desktop devices and in-vehicle devices that provide different schemes concurrently for accessing functions.